Event Coverage

Samsung South East Asia & Oceania Forum 2012

By Andy Sim - 15 Mar 2012

Keynotes

Gadgets Galore!

Sawadeeka, dear readers. Samsung's SEA (South East Asia) and Oceania Forum has evolved into a yearly occurrence in recent years. And like eager kids waiting to unwrap their presents, we at HardwareZone have been waiting with bated breath to see what the South Korean CE giant would unveil this time. The event was held at the Bangkok Convention Centre and we were here to see what Samsung has in store for you and I in the coming months ahead.

Some of you might also recall that the Forum in 2011 was held at the Marina Bay Sands on home ground about twelve months back. If you are new to this, Samsung's Forum is fundamentally a launch pad for their latest line of consumer electronics which includes high-definition televisions, audio and visual equipment, mobile devices, digital imaging, and home appliances (we won't be covering the latter category, of course). Apart from inviting journalists from tech-related industries, the media event is also open to Samsung's trade partners and distributors from across the region. We'll be bringing you highlights of keynote announcements and the products themselves - fresh from Samsung's oven. The company also revealed that their new line of products are governed and inspired by three key pillars: Smart Interaction, Smart Content, and Smart Evolution. To give you a little primer, you can expect a glimpse of Samsung's flagship ES-series HDTVs, the Galaxy Beam (a projector smartphone), the updated Galaxy Tab 2 tablets, and a whole lot more. It's time to dig in!

Miss Adele Tan, Samsung's Regional Manager of Audio Visual, and Mr Ariel Arias, Head of Audio Visual, Samsung Philippines, gave us a brief overview of the gesture-controlled features which will be integrated with Samsung's premium 2012 HDTVs.

Miss Tan and Mr Arias also touched on the new facial recognition feature to be implemented with the new range of TVs. For instance, you may log on to social networking apps like Facebook or Twitter by relying on the TV's built-in camera instead of logging in to the application manually.

Another interesting highlight is Samsung's Evolution Kit, which enables users to upgrade their televisions' software and hardware via Samsung's proprietary system-on-chip (SoC) technology. However, only selected 2012 models will carry this feature.

 Samsung has partnered with Viki, an international video site, to expand the company's video streaming portfolio which includes a comprehensive suite of TV programs and movies subtitled in more than 150 languages. Previously available only to mobile users, Viki will be extended to Smart TV viewers at a global level from March 2012 onwards.

Premium LED edge-lit models such as the ES8000 and ES7500 will tout Samsung's new Smart Interaction features, such as Voice Control, Motion Control, and Face Recognition. More on these when we discuss their TVs over at the next page.

Both Galaxy Tab 2 models were also unveiled by Mr Lee Jui Siang, Director of Mobile Phone, Samsung Malaysia. The Android 4.0-powered tablets will be available in 3G and Wi-Fi versions as well as 7-inch and 10.1-inch variants.

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